R.I.P. Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Sometimes the art of the writer creates a world bigger, bolder, and brighter than the one we live in. Such was the case with Gabriel Garcia Marquez – the Colombian exile who was first a journalist and then one of the greatest writers who ever lived. What impresses me most is his commitment to the truth and speaking the truth for all. It was Marquez who said that he wanted governments to care about poor people, and that was what he was looking at when he evaluated a nation’s soul. He made friends in high and low places, uniting people across the planet through the shared love of his art. That was his greatest achievement, and that is what artists have always aspired to. You will live forever, Gabo.

Here is the last fragment from One Hundred Years of Solitude: “… races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.”

I confess I must read more of his work, as should we all. “Love and justice through literature” – that was Marquez.